The Works Of Rudyard Kipling: From Sea To Sea

by Rudyard Kipling

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, History, Classics

412 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1899

About the author

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was a journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist.

Kipling's works of fiction include The Jungle Book (1894), Kim (1901), and many short stories, including The Man Who Would Be King (1888). His poems include Mandalay (1890), Gunga Din (1890), The Gods of the Copybook Headings (1919), The White Man's Burden (1899), and If— (1910). He is regarded as a major innovator in the art of the short story; his children's books are classics of children's literature; and one critic described his work as exhibiting "a versatile and luminous narrative gift".

Kipling was one of the most popular writers in the United Kingdom, in both prose and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Henry James said: "Kipling strikes me personally as the most complete man of genius (as distinct from fine intelligence) that I have ever known." In 1907, at the age of 41, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English-language writer to receive the prize, and its youngest recipient to date. He was also sounded out for the British Poet Laureateship and on several occasions for a knighthood, both of which he declined.

Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907 "in consideration of the power of observation, originality of imagination, virility of ideas and remarkable talent for narration which characterize the creations of this world-famous author."

Kipling kept writing until the early 1930s, but at a slower pace and with much less success than before. On the night of 12 January 1936, Kipling suffered a haemorrhage in his small intestine. He underwent surgery, but died less than a week later on 18 January 1936 at the age of 70 of a perforated duodenal ulcer. Kipling's death had in fact previously been incorrectly announced in a magazine, to which he wrote, "I've just read that I am dead. Don't forget to delete me from your list of subscribers."

Reviews

[Scipio Africanus · Rating 4 out of 5]

First 4 chapters and last section in Egypt were on point. His travels through Canada were super boring.

[David Frazier]

This is mainly of interest if you're a fiend for travel writing or have some odd interest in world travel in the late 1800s. Personally, the most interesting chapter was "Our Overseas Men", an excellent sketch of a breed of Far East merchants, who serve as a sort of missing link between colonialists and expats. Beyond this, the younger Kipling was not a half-bad travel writer, certainly not as colorful as Mark Twain, but an accomplished ironist, if a little distant. There are plenty of astute and highly quotable observations (eg. "“the more 'democratic' a land is, the more make-believes must the stranger respect”), and it's well worth a read if his themes and itinerary happen to match targets of your research.

Final note: I read a free-download edition from Project Gutenburg.

[Elaine Reinhard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonder classic novel. Beautifully written and enjoyable read.

[keith koenigsberg · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not one to quickly "cancel" anyone, or ban books, but c'mon - Rudyard Kipling was more than just a racist, he was virtually genocidal.

"It would be quite right to wipe the city of Canton off the face of the earth, and to exterminate all the people who ran away from the shelling. The Chinaman ought not to count."

"This people ought to be killed off because they are unlike any people I ever met before. Look at their faces. "

This was in peacetime - a man taking a luxury cruise around the orient, and proclaiming about what he sees and learns.

I don't want this book or any by Kipling around my house, if only because I don't want to periodically see it by accident and ruin my mood, by reminding me that there are such shitheads in the world.